“Playing in the dollhouse.”
That’s how Olivia Turner describes curating an exhibition, arranging artworks in miniature, testing what belongs beside what, and imagining how a visitor might feel moving through that space.
The Curatorial Layer
As a curatorial fellow at the Meadows Museum in Dallas and a PhD candidate in Art History at Florida State University, Olivia Turner approaches her work with both precision and warmth.
Her path wound through art history, education, and even childcare, these experiences shaped how she thinks about the emotional life of museums.
Curators like Olivia make choices that ripple through our encounters with art through the height of a frame, the spacing between works, the tone of a wall label. Each decision shapes the visitor’s experience — and sometimes, their emotions.
When Art Holds Emotion
In our conversation, Olivia reflected on the emotional impact of works like Picasso’s Dream and Lie of Franco and Goya’s Black Paintings.
She spoke about the quiet responsibility curators carry when dealing with trauma, violence, and grief, similarly its the same sensitivity art therapists bring into clinical spaces.
“Every object on display has a pulse — some beat softly, others ache.”
That’s the overlap we keep finding in this series:
curation as care.
education as connection.
therapy as translation.
The Museum as a Third Place
Olivia also described her time at the Nasher Sculpture Center, where she helped create family programs during Free First Saturdays filled with outdoor artmaking sessions filled with laughter, conversation, and rest.
It’s a reminder that museums are more than cultural institutions; they’re community anchors.
When admission is free and art feels accessible, museums become what sociologists call a third place — not home, not work, but somewhere you can simply be.
🎧 Listen to the Full Conversation
This article only scratches the surface of my conversation with Olivia Turner.
Enjoying this episode? In the full interview with Olivia she shares her research on Luisa Roldán, Spain’s first professional female sculptor, who carved sacred figures with such skill that she earned royal commissions — though her name was often hidden behind those of her male patrons. Hearing Olivia talk about her passion for rediscovering Roldán’s legacy feels like watching one woman scholar reach through history to honor another.
We also geek out over the sisterhood our fields share in ideas, her advice for art therapist who want to work in museums, and much more. Click the button below to become a subscriber to unlock this full conversation and the other interviews in this series!
Closing the Series
This episode concludes our three-part series exploring the different collaborations of museum based art therapy work:
Dr. Carolyn Treadon — When Therapy Walked into the Museum
Dr. Beatriz Galuban — When Healing and Learning Met in the Museum
Olivia Turner — When the Gallery Held the Space
Together, these voices remind us that museums can be living ecosystems of empathy — places where art meets care, and care becomes art.
✨ Coming Next Month ✨
As 2025 winds down, we’re taking a step back to reflect on the year that shaped the International Museotherapy Initiative.
In our year-end wrap-up episode, Minette and I will look at where we started, what we’ve learned from our incredible guests, and where we’re heading in 2026.
Think of it as an open studio session: reflective, a little chaotic, and full of gratitude.
You won’t want to miss it.
